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Ducks shut out Capitals, move into second in Pacific

Gibson makes 36 saves in win; Rakell extends goal streak

by
Dan Arritt
/ NHL.com Correspondent

ANAHEIM --John Gibson made 36 saves for his second shutout of the season, and the Anaheim Ducks took over second place in the Pacific Division with a 4-0 win against the Washington Capitals at Honda Center on Tuesday.

Rickard Rakell and Adam Henrique each had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Getzlaf and Josh Manson each had two assists for the Ducks (34-21-12), who moved one point ahead of the San Jose Sharks with their third straight win and sixth in eight games (6-1-1).

"We stuck to our game plan and focused on defense," Gibson said. "We made sure we kept them on the outside and limited their chances as much as possible."

Anaheim scored three goals on its first nine shots to chase starting goaltender Braden Holtby at 5:37 of the second period. Philipp Grubauer made eight saves the rest of the way for Washington (37-22-7), which is one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and two ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin remains two goals short of 600 in his NHL career.

The Ducks took a 2-0 lead into the second period for the second straight game.

Capitals forward Tom Wilson was called for interference against Jakob Silfverberg on the first shift of the game, and Henrique scored on the ensuing power play.

Rakell passed from the left point to Henrique, who had curled into the high slot, and he beat Holtby over his glove with a one-timer for his 20th goal at 1:24.

"Because of the time change and all of that, sometimes you are a little off," coach Barry Trotz said of Washington's start to a three-game California road trip. "First shift, we actually were OK. Then, we took a penalty and they ended up scoring."

Hampus Lindholm made it 2-0 when he shot through traffic from the left point for his 10th goal at 13:15 of the first. Silfverberg and Ryan Kesler screened Holtby, and the puck appeared to hit Washington defenseman Michal Kempny on the way to the net.

Anaheim killed two power plays in the first period. T.J. Oshie hit the post on a deflected shot on the second, and Gibson followed with difficult saves on Oshie and Brett Connolly.

"We had a few second whacks close to the crease that would have been nice to cash in on," Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen said. "That would have changed the game, maybe."

Rakell made it 3-0 when he one-timed a pass from Getzlaf from the right face-off circle at 5:37 of the second. It was his sixth goal in a four-game goal streak.

"[Getzlaf] was telling me after the game I was yelling too much for the puck," Rakell said with a laugh. "He's a great passer and I'm just trying to be open."

It was the third time in six games Holtby has been pulled, and Trotz said he'll likely turn to Grubauer for a stretch.

"He hasn't had a real good stretch, just like a player," Trotz said of Holtby. "He's going to work with our goaltending coaches and get his game in order. He has won a lot of games for us and he is an elite goaltender in this league. Everybody goes through some dry spells, and he is having one right now."

Nick Ritchie scored into an empty net with 1:26 remaining to make it 4-0.

Highlight of the game

They said it

"We came out a little flat in the first and we didn't help [goalie Braden Holtby] enough. You have to give some credit to Anaheim too. They are a good team and they have some skilled players." -- Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom

"Every single night there's a big challenge. Every team has one or two lines with a lot of firepower. I thought we did a good job trying to contain." -- Ducks forward Adam Henrique

Need to know

Washington forward Jay Beagle won 7 of 8 face-offs and has won 37 of his past 42 (88.1 percent). … The Capitals came in 10-for-33 on the power play (30.3 percent) since Feb. 2, the best in the League in that span, but went 0-for-3 against the Ducks, who have killed 34 of 35 penalties since Feb. 9, including 25 straight. … Gibson is 8-1-1 with a 1.55 goals-against average and .953 save percentage since the All-Star break. … Getzlaf has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in his past six games. … Manson has three points (one goal, two assists) in a three-game point streak. Henrique has four points (two goals, two assists) in the past four games. … The Ducks are 11-1-2 at home since Dec. 29.

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